From the Bookshelf of My YA Obsession…

The Lucky One

Nicholas Sparks

Start date: April 30, 2012

Finish date: May 6, 2012

Discussion: Ya fiction

Discussion leader: Brittany Bloom

Why we're reading this: I think this book should be added to the club because it's a wonderful story about love and loss. …more
[close] I think this book should be added to the club because it's a wonderful story about love and loss.

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Dec 24, 2012 Katie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own, 5-stars, favorites, read-in-2013

The only Nicholas Sparks’s book that I have read is The Notebook. Sadly, I enjoyed the way the movie portrayed the romance as opposed to the book, and I know many other people feel the same way. Regardless, Sparks still has an ability to write meaningful romances that are beloved by many readers. I knew I needed to give him another chance, so I picked up The Lucky One from my shelf.

At the beginning of the book, Keith Clayton, sheriff deputy of the town, is running a background check on the suspi The only Nicholas Sparks’s book that I have read is The Notebook. Sadly, I enjoyed the way the movie portrayed the romance as opposed to the book, and I know many other people feel the same way. Regardless, Sparks still has an ability to write meaningful romances that are beloved by many readers. I knew I needed to give him another chance, so I picked up The Lucky One from my shelf.

At the beginning of the book, Keith Clayton, sheriff deputy of the town, is running a background check on the suspicious Logan Thibault, a drifter with a mission. With nothing to find Clayton unwillingly lets Thibault and his dog, Zeus, continue. Anxiously, Thibault leaves Clayton because he finally has walked all the way from Colorado to Hampton, North Carolina in search of a beautiful woman in a photograph. As soon as Thibault found the picture when he was a marine stationed in Iraq, he acquired an overwhelming amount of good luck. The mysterious woman became his guardian and saved him from multiple life or death situations. Therefore, he deemed it lucky and regarded it as his destiny to find this woman because he owed something to her. When he arrives in Hampton, he finds the woman in the picture, Elizabeth Green, and he starts the process of repaying for her help. Clayton, also Greens’s ex-husband, is furious that she is spending so much time with a drifter, and he will do everything in his power to stop this budding relationship. With luck on their side, will Green and Thibault be able to withstand these trials in their relationship?

I was hooked. There are so many things that I absolutely adored about this book. First, I love how Sparks told the story from our three central characters’ perspective: Thibault, Clayton, and Green. It provided readers an in-depth view of these characters and their personalities, and it set the stage for the story and many events. I believe if the story was told from only one perspective, it would have been lacking and lost its impact. This style technique created some really thorough characters that I absolutely loved and hated. Also, this book always left me on the edge of my seat. Clayton was always up to something, and I always anticipated how Thibault and Green would reciprocate. Lastly, I was extremely content with the conclusion of this novel. We all know Sparks’s reputation for his works-tearjerkers, emotional blenders, etc. So, I certainly did not expect to feel this satisfied with the ending.

I loved this book. In fact, I would even go so far as to classify it as a favorite. The writing was impeccable. The characters were well-developed. And, the story was unique and unpredictable. This made me fall in love with Sparks, and I highly anticipate the next time I read another one of his books. Luckily, I have most of them sitting on my shelf. I can’t wait! ...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Karla Mae (Reads and Thoughts) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2011-reads

This is my 10th Nicholas Sparks book and i decided to read it because i heard that a movie adaptation will be shown next tear and i just had a habit of reading stuffs before it went to the big screen. :)

When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying t This is my 10th Nicholas Sparks book and i decided to read it because i heard that a movie adaptation will be shown next tear and i just had a habit of reading stuffs before it went to the big screen. :)

When U.S. Marine Logan Thibault finds a photograph of a smiling young woman half-buried in the dirt during his third tour of duty in Iraq, his first instinct is to toss it aside. Instead, he brings it back to the base for someone to claim, but when no one does, he finds himself always carrying the photo in his pocket. Soon Thibault experiences a sudden streak of luck—winning poker games and even surviving deadly combat that kills two of his closest buddies. Only his best friend, Victor, seems to have an explanation for his good fortune: the photograph—his lucky charm.

Back home in Colorado, Thibault can’t seem to get the photo—and the woman in it—out of his mind. Believing that she somehow holds the key to his destiny, he sets out on a journey across the country to find her, never expecting the strong but vulnerable woman he encounters in Hampton, North Carolina—Elizabeth, a divorced mother with a young son—to be the girl he’s been waiting his whole life to meet. Caught off guard by the attraction he feels, Thibault keeps the story of the photo, and his luck, a secret. As he and Elizabeth embark upon a passionate and all-consuming love affair, the secret he is keeping will soon threaten to tear them apart—destroying not only their love, but also their lives.

I like this one because it seems to be a very interesting story because i was really curious about the picture thing and looking for the girl in the image stuff. The characters are well developed and it seems to be easy to go with their stories. I don't really like reading the part of Clayton (other guy character on the story), he was very creepy and acted like a pervert at times. ugh. He's just creepy. I also like the end part which really left me at awe. In the last two chapters its truly where the climax is for me. I would not really state what happened, but lets just say that things happened and at the end of that chapter Elizabeth and her Son cried. And on the last chapter there are words like "accident", "funeral", "cemetery", "flowers" and i'm thinking out like OH MY! THERE'S SOMEONE WHO DIED AGAIN! NOT AGAIN NICHOLAS SPARKS! but my thinking was wrong there is really someone who died, but its still a happy ending. :)

In all, a typical Nicholas Sparks read and it seems to be a "gender-reversal" of "The Message in a Bottle" . The story was beautifully written and the end is very unpredictable. Let me end this by saying it has a HAPPY ENDING. It not usual for a Nicholas Sparks novel to have a happy ending, but this definitely has one and it makes me happy knowing at times, Nicholas Sparks still believed in Happy Endings. :)

P.S I'm kinda excited for the movie adaptation of this since Zac Efron will be playing Logan Thibault. K. :) ...more

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May 16, 2012 Lindsey Mason rated it really liked it

If my rating had been left only to my first impressions, it would have been a 2 star. I wasn't super impressed with some of the little mistakes Nicholas made with research involving the marine corps. I've never been a stickler for small details but after 6 years with my husband serving, it was on the verge of being an annoyance for me rather than a good book. I did finish the book, because of prodding by friends, and ended up pleased that I didn't give up. Similar story line to each book he writ ...more

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